Re: General Newbie Questions -- The Dog House Forum

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Date Posted: 20:34:18 07/15/03 Tue
Author: The Dog
Author Host/IP: pppta23-336.ght.iadfw.net / 207.136.48.210
Subject: Re: General Newbie Questions
In reply to: Mountain Biker 's message, "General Newbie Questions" on 15:07:25 07/14/03 Mon

>Hello, I like your site. I'm new to the sport, and
>have a few questions, I hope you don't mind..
>
>1) Should I wear a PFD when windsurfing?

I guess it depends...

Most instructors general require something. But a poor fitting life jacket can be a real hinderance to learning the sport. Personally, I'm a strong swimmer so I rarely wear a life jacket. I figure between the board and any wetsuit I could be wearing, I have more flotation than a life jacket provides. My wife pretty much always wears a life jacket.

People argue that if I'm knocked unconscious, the board does me no good. I counter that most of the life jackets used in windsurfing won't float you face up anyway... And I do wear a helmet when it's really cranking.

It's your call.

>2) How tight should I rig the downhaul and outhaul (I
>think those are the correct terms)? I suspect that
>the "down" should be tight, and the out should vary
>based on wind, etc? Same with the battens.. fairly
>loose?

Line tension is totally dependent on the sail. Some sails take much more downhaul than others. You've really got to look at the sail shape, the adjust your lines to get the shape you want. As for outhaul, I've actually owned sails that required no outhaul pressure. Most require some.

Basically, the more downhaul you add, the flatter the sail gets. If the wind is light, you rig your sail to be "full" - i.e. less downhaul. As the wind increase you take the power out of the sail by adding more downhaul. That will usually "flatten" the sail and allow the head of the sail to twist off.

Outhaul can be adjusted to some extent without changing downhaul.

It's hard to adequately describe, but very easy to demonstrate. Kind of like my chemistry classes.

>3) Why can I Tack and Gibe fairly well, but I can't
>seem to go downwind (run?). Is this a typical with
>beginners? Any tips?

Because it's tough to create apparent wind going dead down wind - i.e. plane. Your sail is more of a parachute when you go deep down wind.

If you're just talking about broad reaching (45 deg off the wind), then that's probably just a stance problem. But going deep downwind is tough for everyone.

>4) My board has a dagger fin, do most people use
>these? are there times to not use it?

You mean a daggerboard?

Use the daggerboard anytime you want to go upwind in light wind conditions. You can take it out for going downwind in light conditions. When you're planing, you don't need a daggerboard.

>5) My board has foot-hold things, but they are all
>broken. Are they replaceable? They are basically
>straps whose ends are split into three 'strands', the
>outside ones are notched, and the inside strand holds
>the two outside strands in place in the board. (hope
>that makes sense).

Unfortunately, I don't completely understand. You're talking about footstraps, but I can't get a good idea of how yours attach.

If you have to use a screw to hold the straps to the board, you can probably get a replacement. Otherwise, probably not. If it's a big old board, it's probably not worth having straps on anyway.

Hope this helps.
Dog

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